The Alaska cruise that never was...

[wernowhere]

Pre-pandemic I was a Celebrity fan but now I am very frustrated with them. I am still waiting on several hundred dollars of refunds for excursions and beverage package upgrades for an early June cruise that was canceled back in March. In early May I was emailed that I would have the money within two billing cycles. Here is the exact quote from that email:

 

The credit card to which the order was charged will be credited within two billing cycles.

 

When I called in late July I was told my refund is approved/pending processing and I should get my money by the next billing cycle. When my travel agent called in early September she was told it was still pending processing and I should have my money by my next billing cycle. Guess what? It's mid October and there's still no refund. It's been 7 months since my cruise was canceled. Phone calls are worthless. The agents apologize for the delay and assure you that you'll get your money soon but those are empty promises.

 

I would be careful with assurances about the future.  It's tough to "Cruise with confidence" when you don't have confidence in the company to deliver on their promises.

 

[jelayne]

I’m sorry you are having difficulty getting the Cruise Planner items refunded.

Have you contacted the Captains Club or escalated the issue to a supervisor or Resolutions when you have called?
 

Some other options to consider is posting on their FB or Twitter, that has gotten results for some.  
Another option is to file a dispute with your credit card company.  We did that to get a refund of airfare for a flight the airline cancelled.  The airline promised a refund in 60 days,  at 90 days I contacted our credit card company.  It took it took 4 follow-up calls to the card company and another 90 days but last week we got a final determination and refund.  
I hope you get your refund soon.

[cl.klink]

9 hours ago, wernowhere said:

Pre-pandemic I was a Celebrity fan but now I am very frustrated with them. I am still waiting on several hundred dollars of refunds for excursions and beverage package upgrades for an early June cruise that was canceled back in March. In early May I was emailed that I would have the money within two billing cycles. Here is the exact quote from that email:

 

The credit card to which the order was charged will be credited within two billing cycles.

 

When I called in late July I was told my refund is approved/pending processing and I should get my money by the next billing cycle. When my travel agent called in early September she was told it was still pending processing and I should have my money by my next billing cycle. Guess what? It's mid October and there's still no refund. It's been 7 months since my cruise was canceled. Phone calls are worthless. The agents apologize for the delay and assure you that you'll get your money soon but those are empty promises.

 

I would be careful with assurances about the future.  It's tough to "Cruise with confidence" when you don't have confidence in the company to deliver on their promises.

 

 

Aren't all the cruise lines having a ... challenge ... behaving well, though?  There are instances of unhappy things like this, and other instances of things going well.  But I have a hard time believing that Celebrity is dramatically different than most businesses in most industries affected by the pandemic and its consequences.

 

- Joel

 

[alcpa1]

Go back to your travel agent.

Some on line agencies are parts of a larger group and it could be this entity that is holding up your refund. We were in the same situation and our travel agent became an intermediary on our behalf until resolution.

[Mr. Click]

Go back to your credit card company.  Celebrity refunded our canceled trips with in 60 days but Princess Lodges went way past that mark on our hotel refunds for Alaska post cruise so I simply filed a dispute with Chase and they issued a temp credit that became permanent once Princess Lodges/Carnival finally processed the refunds. There is no excuse or need to wait beyond 60 days

[trivia addict]

Credit  card company is the way to go. Back in the Spring, I cancelled every cruise first thru my Amex. All refunds were settled.

[wernowhere]

Thanks everyone.  I just received my refund.  I'm still frustrated with the length of the process but happy to finally have my money.  As for the alternative suggestions, I had already tried the travel agent route a couple of times without success.  The credit card company was my next step if I didn't get my refund soon.  As for the social media route, I had posted a negative review to their Facebook page in early October and it appears that was the trigger to finally get their attention.  They reached out to me via Facebook messages for my details and I received my refund about 3 weeks later.

 

Net net, for those of you in a similar position, I would consider the social media route since that appears to have worked for me.